Congressional Record, Volume 143 Issue 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)

[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3320-S3322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS THREAT REDUCTION ACT

Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Chemical and
Biological Weapons Threat Reduction Act.
With the end of the cold war, we live in a much safer, but still
unstable, world. Without the bi-polar domination of two superpowers, we
now face a world comprised of many nations that have gained power on
the world stage by producing a relatively inexpensive means of war.
Among the most deplorable methods of war-making known to the world,
chemical and biological weapons are horrific tools of mass destruction.
Long ago, the United States discontinued and dismantled its
biological weapons program and is currently unilaterally destroying its
stockpile of poison gas. We would hope that other nations would follow
suit, and destroy these weapons as well.
However, there are rogue States that are pursuing dangerous weapons
programs contrary to international norms against the use and
stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons.
Some countries are even suspected of pledging to ratify international
agreements, while secretly continuing to develop and stockpile these
lethal weapons.
One significant problem in the fight against chemical and biological
weapons is the stunning lack of enforcement of existing international
protocols.
International agreements, such as the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the
1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, ban the use of poison gas
in war and prohibit the acquisition, development, production, and
stockpiling of biological weapons. However, they have not been used as
an effective deterrent.
For example, as the world watched with horror and disbelief when Iraq
used poison gas against its own nationals, the community of nations
failed to punish the perpetrators of this act.
In addition, there is currently no U.S. law which provides criminal
or civil penalties relating to the use of these weapons in the United
States.
Therefore, with the hope of reinforcing U.S. international leadership
on chemical and biological weapons, I am proud to be a cosponsor of the
Chemical and Biological Weapons Threat Reduction Act.
This legislation demonstrates our firm commitment to destroy U.S.
chemical weapons, setting a strong example for other countries to
follow.
Further, this initiative reinvigorates U.S. efforts to enforce
existing international prohibitions against chemical weapons, provides
strong deterrence, and sends a clear message to nations around the
world that the United States will not tolerate the use of these
weapons.
Specifically, the Chemical and Biological Weapons Threat Reduction
Act sets out civil and criminal penalties for the acquisition,
possession, transfer, and use of chemical and biological weapons.
This legislation mandates the death penalty where the use of these
weapons leads to the loss of life and provides for a $100,000 penalty
for civil violations.
The Chemical and Biological Weapons Threat Reduction Act requires
enhancements to U.S. chemical and biological defenses to protect our
military men and women. Further, it would require U.S. sanctions,
termination of foreign assistance, and suspension of diplomatic
relations against any country that uses chemical and biological weapons
against another country or its own people.
The Chemical and Biological Weapons Threat Reduction Act provides

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concrete and achievable measures to reduce the threat of these
abhorrent weapons. It is the best thing we can do to protect our
country, our allies, and our world from any future atrocities caused by
the use of chemical and biological weapons.
I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, first I want to go ahead and speak on the
legislation, S. 495, the Chemical and Biological Weapons Threat
Reduction Act of 1997, in the interest of time. I think this is very
important legislation, and I wanted to comment on it. But while we are
in the final efforts to get an agreement on the unanimous consent
agreement on how to consider the completion of this legislation, then
when and how to take up the Chemical Weapons Convention next week, and
how issues that are still in disagreement would be handled and how the
motions to strike would be ordered--all of that is in the final phases
of negotiation at this time.
I would like to thank, at the beginning, Senator Kyl for the work he
has put into this legislation and for his effort to come up with a fair
and reasonable unanimous consent agreement as to how we would
proceed. I thank Senator Helms for his cooperation and the highly
respectable and respectful manner in which he has dealt with this issue
in the very important hearings he had.

Also, Senator Daschle has been persistent, but he has been reasonable
in allowing us to have time to work through all the details. I think
with an agreement of this importance and with as many parts to it as
there is, you never could get it worked out to where it would just be
100 percent what everybody wants. But I think we have gotten it now to
where it is fair, and I hope we can go ahead and close the loop,
complete consideration of the legislation and then be prepared next
week to move to the treaty itself.
I see the Democratic leader is on the floor.
Mr. President, before I begin my remarks on the bill, in anticipation
of entering into a unanimous-consent agreement, I will first observe
the absence of a quorum.
I withhold. Does the Senator from Texas wish to proceed at this time?
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I was going to proceed if there was no
business in the Chamber, subject to the Senator from Arizona saying I
would not encroach on his time.
Apparently that is the case.
Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas will need to extend
morning business for the time she wishes to speak.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Chair.
I thank the Senator from Arizona because, in fact, I do want to talk
about the bill that will be in the Chamber very shortly. The bill is
sponsored by the junior Senator from Arizona, the Chemical and
Biological Weapons Threat Reduction Act. I am an original cosponsor of
this bill. I think it is very important that we pass this bill. This
bill provides the most strength that we will ever be able to get to
deal with the real chemical and biological weapons issues.
I like this bill because it has real teeth. It permits the U.S.
military to use tear gas, for instance, when it is necessary to rescue
a downed pilot or for the control of prisoners, which has been done,
because tear gas is basically harmless. I would much prefer that we be
able to use tear gas rather than shoot people. It would make more
sense.
That is one of the problems, Mr. President, I have with the chemical
weapons treaty. This bill deals with my concerns in a positive way by
assuring that we are not going to unilaterally disarm ourselves from a
weapon such as tear gas. So this solves one of the problems that I have
with the Chemical Weapons Convention that we will have in the Chamber a
few days from now.
This bill also preserves the Australia Group. The Australia Group is
an effective international export control organization that really has
done the most, the very most, to restrict the transfer of biological
and chemical materials and technology. It is the one thing that is
working and would be vitiated by the chemical weapons treaty.
So I am very pleased that this preserves the Australia Group because
this is the one thing we have that works. This will strengthen U.S.
biological and chemical defense programs. It does require Russian
cooperation and, of course, it is very important that we work together
with Russia in the dismantling of their chemical and biological
weapons. S. 495 has a requirement that we cooperate with Russia. So I
think it is a very important, positive step that we must take. Frankly,
if we can pass this bill, it will take away many of the fears that many
of us have about the chemical weapons treaty.
What this bill does not do is require the sharing of chemical defense
capabilities with countries like Iran. That is one of the concerns many
people have with the Chemical Weapons Convention, the treaty we will be
taking up toward the end of next week. S. 495 does not require such
sharing. So we would not have to sit down with a country like Iran--
knowing that they will not abide by the treaty as we do--and share our
chemical weapons capabilities or secrets with them. We do not produce
chemical weapons, but we certainly have the technologies to do so in
this country. In that case, of course, we should know what is going on
with chemical weapons in other countries.

This bill does not require the expansion of trade in chemicals. This
is another concern that we have with the chemical weapons treaty that
S. 495 addresses. We are not going to expand the trade.
We are not going to circumvent the United States Constitution with
this bill. S. 495 will not take away the fourth amendment right against
unreasonable searches and seizures, which many of us believe is
inherent in the chemical weapons treaty. It certainly does not permit
an intrusive inspection of U.S. businesses by international inspection
teams, which is another concern that we have with the chemical weapons
treaty. Small businesses that are making chemical-related products
should not suddenly be faced with a surprise inspection by an
international team of experts. And who knows for what kind of
intelligence those groups would be looking? Who knows who would even be
in the groups? What kind of protection would a small company making
fertilizer or cleaning products have against unwarranted intrusion by
an international group that might include someone from the Government
of Iran or the Government of China? Who could really tell exactly who
would be in those groups?
I think the Senator from Arizona has fashioned a very good bill. It
is a positive bill. It does alleviate many of the concerns that others
have expressed about the reliability, the verifiability and the
negative impact of the chemical weapons treaty, but it also makes this
country stronger in its ability to enforce restrictions against the
actual export of products that could be used in producing chemical
weapons. The Australia Group is the best avenue that we have, and S.
495 would preserve it.
So I commend the Senator from Arizona. I am very pleased to be an
original cosponsor of this bill. I am pleased that he is gaining
cosponsors by the minute. I think people are beginning to see that we
do have an alternative to stiffen the penalties, to stiffen our resolve
against chemical and biological weapons and at the same time, make sure
that we have laws with real teeth that would disallow the export of
products that could be used to produce chemical weapons from our
country or other countries in the Australia Group. This is the kind of
legislation that I think will help make America stronger and will help
protect this great country even more from the future use of chemical or
biological weapons.
I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
Mr. KYL addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Arizona.
Mr. KYL. I thank the Senator from Texas for a brilliant statement. I
really appreciate that very much.

[[Page S3322]]

I ask unanimous consent that Senator Ashcroft be added as a cosponsor
of S. 495.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the majority leader.

Order of Procedure

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, on behalf of the Democratic leader and I, we
just want to announce again that what we are about to do within the
next 10 minutes or so is offer a unanimous-consent agreement on the
Chemical Weapons Convention. We are still working to make sure we have
a mutual understanding of exactly what is in it, and we want all
Senators to be aware that we are preparing to do that.
I would be glad to yield at this point to the Senator.
Mr. DASCHLE. I appreciate the majority leader's yielding.
I heard him thank a number of people, and I want to express my
gratitude as well to the majority leader and so many others who have
brought us to this point. We have hot-lined this unanimous-consent
request.
Let me just urge all of my Democratic colleagues to respond as
favorably and as quickly as they possibly can. I have very closely
examined once more this request, and I must say I think it is fair to
all sides. It is not everything we would like, but it is not everything
that the Republicans would like either. It is important for purposes of
completing our work on time that we get this agreement today, this
afternoon.
So I urge my Democratic colleagues to support the request and to
allow us to enter into an agreement no later than 2:15 this afternoon.
So again I thank the majority leader, all of those on our side of the
aisle for their great work in bringing us to this point.
I yield the floor.
Mr. LOTT. I thank the Senator.

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